uhgrad2002

A big difference between this Zips team and others in recent years - only three penalties and zero turnovers last night. It seems like this year the execution may be lacking at times but they aren't dying of stupidity. And all the credit in the world to the coaches and team. I didn't think they had it in them. I was wrong. Good job team!

Thank you for the information.

Going to online only tickets and tacking on a service charge of 25% or more doesn't help. It ended my attendance at several sports.

I'm not thrilled by the new logo, but at the same time I think it makes a lot of sense. Why "A" over "Z"? Because they are trying to strengthen the connection between the university and the city. Both are Akron. Only the university is Zips. I do agree that some subtle shading or outlining to bring out the "Z" would help in a couple of ways. It is distinctive in that it is not similar to other logos (well, not too much, anyway). Once all the teams are using it and get some exposure, people will recognize it as "Akron". A logo can be effective without being visually great (see Nebraska's "N"). It is vitally important that the university uses it consistently for a number of years. That is how effective branding works. SO GLAD they kept the golden gold! And don't forget Zippy!

Which makes it all the worse. The fans get shafted so the team can be on a low quality broadcast that relatively few people will watch.

I stopped buying season tickets because of last season's schedule. I'll stop going altogether because of this one. If being big time is more important than fans, so be it. I understand why it is the way it is, but there are other sports that deserve support too, other ways to have fun and other ways to support the university.

That's why I will not be going to any more Zips basketball games.

Perhaps they just could not believe that anyone would make such a huge banner to celebrate simply getting to a mid-major bowl game.

I expected the weeknight games, but count me out for them. Getting too old to be out that late and get up at 5 am for work. No more season tickets for me.

Did you look at the comments posted with piece? Goes along with the news reports. Why do we want to be associated with fraud?

The Acme-Zip game had a lot going for it. Discounted tickets, a variety of attractions, lots of support from a local corporate sponsor that people interacted with daily. It was really about more than football so it attracted a large audience that was getting a lot for their money.

Zips score received equal billing on page A1. It was a night game in another time zone, verses day games at home. The paper has to be printed and distributed in the early morning hours. Logistics come in to play. I didn't see much praise for the paper last week when the UA story was bigger than OSU on the front page, equal overall and bigger than the other schools's article. Or the other day when the major sports front page story was the UA soccer match.

So instead of the A-Roo we will have the O-PU. At least there is an emoji for that.

Some people don't know what they want to do when they are 20 or so. Universities provide one of the few places most of those people can explore their options. And I don't see it necessarily as well-rounded verses job-ready. I think being well rounded enhances being job-ready (and life-ready). I did not start college in order to prepare for a career. When I started, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I started in Liberal Arts and got a BA in Psychology. Useless for a job, but it did qualified me for a graduate program in Library Science. They warned us the job market was tight. They were right. So I went back to school to UA (where the adventure had started a decade previous, for a year) and got a degree in Computer Science, and that became my career. I still maintain that the communications and psychology courses I took early on have made me a better professional and a better person than I would have been without them, to the benefit of my employer along with myself. And the art, language, religion and health sciences courses (I was in school a long time!) keep coming up for me. I do worry about the cost of a college education now and one of the things I want to learn during the upcoming discussions is what has changed so much that the costs are so high. I doubt I could follow the same path now that I did then, as work-study wouldn't cover much of it and I could never pay the loans they get these days back.

Universities exist for more than just preparing people for the job market. If that is the major goal, then businesses ought to be directly taxed to pay for them. And yes, students (and parents paying the bill) need to go in with their eyes open as to what the costs are and the job market is (if that is why they are there). I believe that an important mission for universities is to provide a place for people to explore and to become well rounded individuals, and I fear that is getting lost as higher education refocuses itself to be a job training service. In the long run, we are going to be hurting ourselves by developing a society so narrowly focused on the job market. I will be listening to this conversation over UA rebranding, but if it goes the way I think it might, I will move my support to institutions that educate for a broader life experience.

It will be THE Ohio Polytechnic University

If there was no truth to the rumor of a name change, taking this long to come out and say that only allowed negativity towards his administration to build. I started off thinking hiring him was a mistake. I was just starting to think he might be ok and now I am sure hiring him was a terrible mistake. From what I have read both during the search process and since, this has the makings of a real ugly time for UA.

To clarify that last part, I use polymers and rubber as an example of how the "next big thing" changes. By technical trend, I am referring to the trend in looking at higher education as primarily a means to turn out prospective employees for companies and generate dollars for the institution rather than turning out people who have been exposed to a range of ideas, opinions and (hopefully) experience in critical thinking.

It's not the words in the name, it's the idea that the name change reflects a change in focus. I have a degree in computer science from UA and nearly 30 years in IT, so I assume I would fall under the "technic" umbrella. But I also have a strong liberal arts background and I can testify without a doubt that the liberal arts have been just as important for my career as the tech training. I recognize that for some people a technical training alone meets their needs, but when it comes to my personal support I cannot and will not support an institution that devalues the liberal arts in favor of a technical school focus, no matter how advanced it might be. If UA goes from supporting a universe of knowledge to a focus on the current technical trend (I am all for work with polymers, but does anyone remember how our world revolved around rubber at one time?), I will no longer be a supporter of the institution.

NOT everyone has off work. I realize the school does, but I don't and a I expect a lot of people who would go don't. My department is always shorthanded that day so I end up working.

I'm all for the good luck wish. I'm a football fan. I'm from Ohio. I cheered for the Ohio team to win a national championship. And when UA plays tOSU I cheer even harder for UA. Cheering for another team when UA is not involved is not going to weaken UA. Being petty is.

The lost ticket sales are not limited to the weeknight game. For instance, I have been buying season tickets for myself and my wife since the last years in the rubber Bowl. That's 12 tickets a year. I will not be renewing if there is more than one weekday game on the schedule and will not be going to those games. Say the schedule is like last year. That is six less tickets. My wife will not go if the weather is bad, so say there is a rainy Saturday. Now we are down seven tickets. Now suppose there is a scheduling conflict. Since I am not going to every game anyway maybe I choose the other event. Down eight or nine tickets now. At that point maybe I say screw it and develop a different habit for Fall Saturdays. Down 12?

We don't even beat the "boys". And by the way, how did we do against C-USA this year?

These discussions about attendance and joining a larger conference overestimate the potential for UA to draw in fans. If you look at the potential fan base in a 25 mile radius or so, UA is not even the only D1 school. Plus a significant number of people in the area attended some other school. Then factor in the fans dedicated to the Browns and Buckeyes who are not going to change their interest (realistically, are they going to change from an NFL team or a national championship contender?) and there is not the opportunity here that there is in Boise or Utah. I doubt there is even the opportunity that exists in Cincinnati. I think the MAC is (or was, until this weekday TV contract) the right place for UA. If the league and schools did more to market the product as exciting and affordable (future NFL stars today, up close an personal, great family value, etc...) it would have a differentiated product with appeal. Unfortunately, lack of marketing is not going to bring anyone in and a terrible TV deal is liable to drive a significant part of the existing fan base away. Moving to a "better" (and more expensive) conference is not going to help.

I hope they would move to the Spring if they made the season longer. I would not like to see the season run any later in the year. We have been pretty lucky weather-wise but some of the late season matches have been tough to take watching and must be tough to play in. I especially hate to see tournament matches in bad conditions. At least in the Spring the bad weather would affect the early season and not the tournaments.